Hey everyone, I need your help. I'm currently writing a story that involves people with swords fighting eachother, but they also have access to magic powers (this sums it up really really short).

I'm worried that if I make the powers too op the whole swordfight thing won't matter anymore and it'll all revolve around the powers. But if I make the powers too underpowered they'll become boring and useless.

How would you set the limits/rules for powers like, controling an element - i.e. fire? How to make it balanced? Should I make them more like passive skills, or actuall fire based attacks, ect. Please post your oppinion/ideas.

2) Have them require some sort of "drainable" ressourse, that can also be replenished through fighting with a sword. Something like Mana. So the Magic can be as strong as you want, however the sword fighting is still essential in order to keep casting spells. Depending on the clash or the way the sword hit, you'd be able to cast more, lower-level spells or a few big ones. Cutting flesh = more gain, ect.

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"Even if we forget the faces of our friends we will never forget the bonds that were carved into our souls"

Thanks for the ideas Isaac0 ^,^ I like the first one (was thinking about that myself). But I'm afraid it's gonna' play too small of a role, so I'm thinking lots of passive skills, with some active attacks/abilities. Now i have to think about the active abilites' limits, since in a swordfight throwing a fireball at someone could be considered very op :D

I'm not really a fan of the whole drainable ressource thing tho, since once you put a measure on how much mana someone has left, the fights soon become all about how much mana someone has and who runs out faster).

Just like Izzy said, enchanting is a way to go.
Passives are another method, something like bonus magical effects after performing a combo or something.
It can also be magic to disable stuff from the enemy or lower his strengths.
Or simply rare releases of magic powers where the universe is turned into ashes.

One other method would be an eye power, something that could be magic if you set the rules to make it activated by spell or drain magic resources. Eyes that further enlarge the ways and methods of fighting.

I do not know if you've read my "Warlord's Quests", but my main character has such an eye power that allows her to stop/nullify/interrupt magic by severing connections between the user and the spell. She relies on pure strength/sword fighting mostly, and if you even dare use magic against her, she'll just slice through any spell. An Anti-Mage type of sword fighter.

Let's see, another type of magic used by sword fighters could be something to put them in a strategical advantage, such as, create an entity of magic to scout for you in a small area or do something else entirely that doesn't affect the enemy directly, but gives you an advantage.

I also mentioned bursts of energy. Magic release for a powerful blow, you know, that kind of stuff.

Other magic used by sword fighters could be healing magic.

The most op type of magic would be altering the battlefield in your advantage.
You can visit the Fate franchise on this and read about reality marbles.

Elemental magic is the most basic, but often most effective. Fire for example.
It can be fire based magic, fire enchanting on the sword, fire shield of magic etc. Many ways to go around it.

Limiting can be done by making the magic require some kind of the users energy, like as a downside, after using it too much you get tired/ bleed/ puke rainbows/ become hideyoshi etc.

Hahaha xero you're a boss :D The limiting part had me rofling :D I think I'll take the last two and mash 'em together :D

I definitely have to read your stories, since the concept sounds really awesome.

Thanks for all the ideas. I think I'll make the powers strong, but also make fitting penalties like you said, the passives and enchantments are just there and don't ''cost'' you anything, but to use something stronger (acitve) takes a lot of your energy, ect.

Maybe I simplyfied it too much when I said the story is just about people with swords and magic powers :D It's basically any kinds of weapons fitting the middle ages (swords, bows, crossbows, axes, throwing knives, ect.).

It's a world that used to be filled with magic, people were born with it, they were called Mages and it allowed them to bend the laws of nature, but for over a century there hasn't been any new mages and the world forgot about magic. But after a cultist unleashes an evil force, that has been sealed away for ages (the queen of serpents) the magic slowly starts returning into the world - a young blacksmith who's friends, family and village get destroyed by the monster and it's minions, awakens the ancient force (he went kyuubi mode on them :D) and had a badass ice aura, but was still fighting with a longsword, against one of the liutenants who had mild mind control and time slowing powers but only one arm XD so she was nerfed). These are the only powers I revealed so far, so nothing is decided yet. But before the story can progress further and I add any new characters I need to get this whole issue sorted out :D

Magic works in several ways IMO.
First of all you gotta think what type of energy it uses.
Does the energy come from the user or something else? Like the surroundings or an enchanted item.
Or if it uses energy at all (harry potter for instance).

Then there are multiple types of magic.
The most common being offensive magic where you put into attacks.
eg Elemental magic or making into an attack of sorts

Environmental magic where it alters your surroundings (That's what your char mainly used in my chapters Flash)
eg, making it colder so your opponents feel colder and cannot fight as effectively

Buffing, where your magic enhances the abilitys of yourself or allies. or 'Nuking' which is decreasing the abilitys of others.
Eg, increase your own speed to superhuman levels whilst lowering the enemies so they move more sluggishly.

If you're going to be using elemental powers i would make it so it takes a heavy toll on the users stamina, thus the more they use it the more fatigued they would become.
The bigger the spell the more energy used, simple as.

If you are going to be using elemental powers, what elements are there going to be?
Are you going to use the same ones as in naruto, or use different ones. Less or more of them as well.
Some people class Light and Dark as elements. And whilst Wood magic is a combo magic in Naruto, it can easily be a base one as some cultures class wood as an element.

:3 sorry i didn't reply to the PM straight away, i was busy :3

EDIT:
Oh yeah if you read my first attempt of writing (Darts' Conquest) you'll see that magic users have a 'tattoo' which holds a certain amount of energy within it.

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Biting is Excellent, It's like Kissing, Only there's a WinnerSometimes to see the light, you have to jump into the depths of darkness itself...

Ok after all of you have given me advice, this is what I came up with:

Each character doesn't have the magic powers, but those who do have it (mages) can use some minor spells, like minor healing or enchantments, but every one of them is born with a natural prefference for a specific type of magic, as in time manipulating powers in the case of one of the Liutenants, or ice magic in the case of my main character.

The minor spells will cost them nothing, but the bigger the spell the more energy/stamina it will take for the character to use and or maintain it. Also their emotions play a role in how strong the spell becomes (i.e. if the char. is really mad then it will be harder to controll their spell, but it would become stronger than normally).

The powers will vary from elemental powers, to powers like shapeshifting or self-augmentation, controlling shadows, fear, ect. so not just limited to elements, since there really aren't that many elements :D
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So yeah this is basically what i decided it to be :D thank you all for contributing and helping :D
And drag0n, don't worry about it being late, better late than never ^,^